Snowden says 'litany of lies' prompted him to leak U.S. surveillance

June 17, 2013|Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - Edward Snowden, the Americanwho leaked details about U.S. National Security Agencysurveillance programs, said on Monday he decided to disclose theinformation after observing "a continuing litany of lies" fromsenior officials to Congress.

"Seeing someone in the position of James Clapper - theDirector of National Intelligence - baldly lying to the publicwithout repercussion is the evidence of a subverted democracy.The consent of the governed is not consent if it is notinformed," he said in a forum on the Guardian newspaper website.

"It was seeing a continuing litany of lies from seniorofficials to Congress - and therefore the American people - andthe realization that that Congress, specifically the Gang ofEight (senior U.S. lawmakers), wholly supported the lies thatcompelled me to act," he said.

Snowden, who revealed himself as the source of leakedinformation about U.S. government surveillance programs lastweek from Hong Kong, denied having given classified informationto China. "I have had no contact with the Chinese government,"he said. "I only work with journalists."